Book Review: The Princess and the Fangirl

Jessica Stone and Imogene Lovelace have nothing in common. One is a movie star who’s in the popular Starfield movie franchise, and the other is a geeky fangirl trying to get her favorite character, Princess Amara, saved. The only problem is Jess, who plays Amara, wants nothing more than to leave the role in the past and move on to other projects. At the big Starfield convention, a case of mistaken identity pit Jess and Imogene against each other… until Jess inadvertently may have leaked the script to the next movie. Now, she and Imogene have to switch places so Jess can find who has the script before it’s too late.

This was such a fun book! I loved every moment of it. Jess and Imogene are wonderful. Jess is a serious actress who is resentful of the role that’s gained her such popularity. She’s plagued the the toxicity of fandom and just wants out so she can take more serious roles. Imogene, on the other hand, is the force behind #saveAmara and will do whatever she can to advance her cause. I found Imogene to be much more relatable than Jess, but they were both very real in their own ways.

I also loved the setting of the book, which was the ExcelsiCon. A fan of conventions myself, it’s always fun to read books set at one, especially when the author makes the extra effort to make it seem real. Of course, there are things that happen at this convention that just wouldn’t happen, but that’s the fairy tale of it all.

The romantic relationships in the book were good, although not as satisfying at Geekerella. That one had time to grow and be explored. In this book, the main thrust is the two girls trying to find the leaked script and navigate each other’s lives. I liked the chemistry between the characters and how everything came together, but it wasn’t the focus and there were a lot more questions at the end.

Overall, this book offered good escapism and a fun peek into fandom life.